


cactus juice and unspoken truths

by PastyAndDeels



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: (based on the episode of ATLA when Sokka drank it), F/F, Kya and Bumi are chaotic disasters and I love them, TW: drug use, Tenzin is the boring sibling, also Bolin? a disaster, an ABSOLUTE crackfic, anyway it's just very gay and a wild ride so buckle up kids!, cactus juice shenanigans, im soft for kyalin, korrasami are mentioned but not in it im sorry, sibling adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-21
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22349857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastyAndDeels/pseuds/PastyAndDeels
Summary: Kya and Bumi find a bottle of cactus juice hidden in Tenzin's cupboards, and decide to get high from it and go on a wild adventure to find out the real reasons behind Lin and Tenzin's break-up all those years ago.(Or alternatively- Kya is gay and has a Feeling about Lin)
Relationships: Bumi II & Kya II & Tenzin, Bumi II & Kya II (Avatar), Korra/Asami Sato (ment.), Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 12
Kudos: 241





	cactus juice and unspoken truths

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for Kyalin! I know LOK finished years ago but I've only just finished watching it and I'm trash for my wife Kya and want the best (Lin) for her.  
> Please leave comments and kudos if you enjoy it, and feel free to drop me any requests at my Tumblr (spacedust-sapphic)!

It was late summer and the sun was sinking into the skyline of National City. Air Temple Island had been buzzing with activity all night thanks to a dinner party thrown by Tenzin, but all of the guests had slowly bid their farewells and departed. Shortly after the final few guests had left, Tenzin had declared to his siblings that he was exhausted, and left them in the kitchen as he headed off to bed with Pema. 

Kya looked out of the window at the sky, then across the table to Bumi, who was the only other person on the island who remained awake.   
“What kind of lame party finishes before the sun has even set?”  
Bumi laughed and put his feet up on the table. “A party with an equally lame host”.  
His sister murmured in agreement, leaning nonchalantly against the kitchen counter. As her hand made contact with the countertop, the cupboard door above her head fell from one of its hinges and swung down, hitting Kya in the face.  
“Ouch?” She questioned, although it was more aimed towards why the cupboard had fallen than uncertainty about being in pain.   
Bumi’s eyes lit up. “You’ve just solved our problem!”  
“Oh poor Kya, are you ok? Is there anything I can do to help?” mumbled Kya sarcastically while rubbing her face, wondering how her brother could think this was the solution to anything.  
“Not by- Well, only sort of by being hit in the face. Look in the cupboard!”  
Kya spun around and noticed a green bottle in the cupboard. “Cactus juice?”  
Bumi nodded. “Cactus juice. Like from Uncle Sokka’s story”.  
Swiftly grabbing the bottle, Kya moved over to where her brother was sat.  
“This is going to be more fun than a boring dinner party”.

Kya took a swig from the rapidly-emptying bottle of cactus juice, before handing it back to Bumi.  
“I can’t believe that Tenzin left this unattended in his kitchen cupboards. He has kids! Three of them!”  
“He has four children”, Bumi corrected, coughing slightly as the potent liquid hit his throat. “Although you’re right, this stuff is lethal”.  
“Should we tell the police?” Kya asked, a surge of paranoia from the cactus juice suddenly hitting her.  
A deep laugh erupted from Bumi. “What would the police do about it? Lin prefers not to set foot on Air Temple Island unless she can help it, and she’s hardly maternal enough to worry about the children”.  
Kya smacked her brother softly on the leg. “She would still do her job! That’s child endangerment!”  
“I’d imagine it would be pretty weird of her to arrest her ex-boyfriend though”.  
“That’s a valid point.”  
A moment of comfortable silence passed, both siblings engaged in their thoughts.  
“I wonder what actually happened between them,” Bumi mused.  
Kya narrowed her eyes. “He met Pema and liked her more? That’s common knowledge, Bumi”.  
“Seems a little convenient if you ask me”.  
“I’m sure it was really convenient for poor Lin”.  
“I think we should investigate!” Bumi declared, standing up. He offered out his hand to his sister, ready for an adventure.  
“Fine,” she sighed, taking his hand. “But only because you’ve intrigued me”.

The sound of obnoxiously loud banging on his bedroom door awoke Tenzin with a start. He checked that Pema was still asleep before pulling on his robe, wondering who was still in his house and what they wanted.   
“TENZIN!” hissed Bumi, louder than anticipated. “We need to talk!”  
Tenzin groaned, looking at his brother and sister. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”  
Bumi shook his head. “No?”  
“It’s 2am! Why aren’t you-“ Tenzin cut himself off, noticing how diluted his siblings’ eyes were. “Oh Spirits, you found the cactus juice, didn’t you?”  
Kya shuffled her feet. “Yeah, we kinda drank it all”.  
A long sigh escaped her younger brother’s lips. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it as he processed what she had told him. “All of it? Pema and I were saving it for next weekend, Korra and Asami had agreed to take all of the children and we were going to-“  
Kya grabbed Bumi by the arm and pulled him towards the front door, grimacing. “We really don’t need to know what he was planning.”  
She opened the door. “Reckon your airbending could get us across to National City in that sail boat?”  
Bumi nodded enthusiastically, the cactus juice still fuelling his sense of adventure.  
Kya grinned purposefully. “Then I know exactly where we’re going”. 

While Tenzin’s response to being woken up in the middle of the night was almost agreeable (aside from his disappointment in the cactus juice consumption), Lin’s reaction was nothing short of being hostile.  
“WHAT?” She yelled, yanking the door to her apartment open so viciously that it almost pulled the doorframe down.  
Her gaze softened slightly when she saw Kya stood on the other side, but she instantly regained her steely demeanour at the sight of Bumi.  
“What are you doing here?” She rephrased quieter, rubbing her eyes with her hand.  
Kya giggled. “We’re on an adventure!”  
Lin murmured a few choice words under her breath, turning to close the door.  
“No! Wait,” cried Bumi, pushing on the door to stop the police chief from shutting it. “We wanted to know what happened- really happened- between you and Tenzin”.  
Lin sighed, letting go of the door. “I thought we resolved all of this years ago? He met Pema, she wanted a family, I didn’t, end of story?”  
Kya cocked an eyebrow as she made eye contact with Lin, but didn’t say anything.  
“Was that it? Was that all you wanted?” Lin asked, looking from one sibling’s dazed expression to the other.  
Bumi nodded, stepping away from the door.  
“Thank the Spirits,” Lin muttered. “Next time you two go on a cactus juice induced trip, maybe stay at home”.  
Kya stuck out her tongue and Lin rolled her eyes, shutting the door to her apartment.  
Bumi sighed as they wandered through the hallway. “I think we should go back to Air Temple Island now, I’m beginning get feeling in my toes again”.  
Kya glanced behind her, looking back at the shut door. “Good idea”.

An hour later, Kya was pacing the floor of her room while Bumi lay passed out in the corner. The cactus juice’s effects had lessened to a gentle buzz, but something was still tugging on the waterbender’s mind.  
Quietly, she slipped back out of the house and towards the sailing boat that Bumi had abandoned earlier, ready to embark on either the bravest or the stupidest journey of the night.

Kya took in a deep breath as she approached the door to Lin’s apartment for the second time. Tentatively, she knocked, bracing herself for the contentious response she knew she would get.  
“Bumi, if that’s you again, I swear I will throw you into a jail cell before you can explain what you’re doing here,” came Lin’s voice from inside.  
The door flung open and Kya gave a tiny wave, a sheepish smile on her face. “Is that even legal? Could you throw him in jail just for knocking on your door?”  
Lin groaned slightly, opening the door more and motioning for Kya to step in. Something about the police chief’s movements seemed more relaxed this time, despite it being the second disturbance of the night.  
“What do you want this time?” she quizzed, getting straight to the point.   
Kya blinked, realising that she didn’t actually have an explanation as to why she had decided to show up unannounced to Lin’s apartment. “I don’t know. Something was just telling me to come back, that you had more to say earlier.”  
Lin shifted uncomfortably. “Your instinct was right”.  
“I’m always right,” Kya shrugged.  
“You can leave again if you’re going to be like that; I don’t have to tell you the rest of the story”.  
Kya laughed and dipped her head. “I’m sorry, you’re right”.  
Lin smiled, and Kya realised that it was probably the first time she’d ever seen the earthbender pull a facial expression that wasn’t a frown. It suited her, Kya thought.  
“What I said earlier- about Pema being the reason Tenzin and I broke up- it wasn’t a lie.” Lin explained.  
Kya nodded gently. “I know”.  
“But it also wasn’t not a lie. I hadn’t been happy with Tenzin for a while, and when he told me that he and Pema were in love, it was a relief. Because it was easier than admitting the truth to him, which would have hurt him more than he thought he hurt me.”  
“What really happened?” Kya asked, placing her hand on Lin’s arm.  
Lin took in a sharp breath. “I was in love with somebody else, possibly the whole time that I was with Tenzin. Definitely longer than he was with Pema”.  
Kya’s eyes widened at what she had just been told. “That’s not where I expected that story to go,” she gasped. “Oh Spirits… was it Tonraq? Varrick? BUMI?”  
“No, definitely not,” Lin chuckled. “Primarily because I didn’t know half of them back then”.  
“Oh,” Kya murmured, rubbing her arm. “Who was it then? Obviously you don’t have to tell me, but I mean I’m here now, and we made it this far with the story, and chances are I don’t even know the person, and-“  
Kya’s rambling was cut off by Lin’s lips pressing against hers. She pulled back slightly, squinting at the police chief in front of her.   
“Ok, is it just the cactus juice still in my system, or are you saying it was me that you were in love with?”  
“Take your pick,” Lin shrugged, a smirk on her face.  
Kya smiled, stepping forwards and closing the gap between them by kissing Lin again, shocked at how long it taken her to notice how well their two bodies fit together. Lin deepened the kiss, running her hands through Kya’s hair as Kya’s hands found their way to the base of Lin’s back.  
Without warning, the front door flung open and Bolin walked in. “Hey Lin, Mako’s car broke down so he told me to come over and tell you-“  
He stopped dead in his tracks, noticing the two women in the corner of the room. “On second thoughts, we’ll just walk to the police station and see you later”.  
The boy turned around, and as quickly as he had appeared, he was gone.   
Kya laughed at the shade of red Lin’s face had turned. The police chief rolled her eyes, then walked over to the door and locked it, before turning to face Kya again.   
“Now, where were we?”


End file.
